Speed estimate button is hardly unrealistic I mean a sub would have a crew am i not mistaken? To do the maths in a game environment is more unrealistic. Its like how people complain about map contact updates when a crewman would be plotting it on the map anyway- they still do it today!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Magikhairbrush:
Speed estimate button is hardly unrealistic I mean a sub would have a crew am i not mistaken? To do the maths in a game environment is more unrealistic. Its like how people complain about map contact updates when a crewman would be plotting it on the map anyway- they still do it today! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

NO! The captain leaves the bridge, goes down to the chart table and plots every position, velocity and vector himself! Then he leisurely drinks a fresh, frosty Coke before remounting the steps to the bridge.

yngvef...many thanks for this guide to determining speed. Also, "length guide" of ships is great. I'm a "newbie" with computer game and SH4. Maybe with this, I can at least Die trying!!! lol I'm still struggling with using navigation tools to plot course and bearings. So far, I have been able to perfect accurate "donuts" and "U-turns" in the Pacific to a great finesse! Cheers!

I have been playing SH 4 for a while. The main problem with many things in the game is that the manual does not match the game. I will certainly try yngvef's method. It sounds pretty awesome. But the stop watch method does work. Here is how.

1. Call up the stop watch.
2. Click on the stem of the stop watch, (The manual neglects to tell you this. The stop watch will not help the auto speed detection unless you can hear it ticking)
3. Do three carefull range findings of the target with a minimum of 5 seconds between rangings. The longer the time between range findings the more accurate your fire control computer will be.
4. When you have three or more you click two buttons on that device that sends data to the TDC. The speed button then the stop watch button. You will get a text readout of the course and speed of your target.
5. The next weirdness: When you send the data to the TDC only the speed is sent, NOT the AOB. You have to enter the AOB manually by turning the dial and sending the data to the TDC.
6. This is a little tough. You have to match the zero mark to the course given you in the text readout. This is the part the should have been automatic but isn't.

This system works. It is clunkier that yngvef's method. But, if you like fiddling around with the dials and gauges it is fun.

A Note on realism:
A HUGE mistake in the game was to use the term "realism". UBI is a Romanian company. Their English can be a tad weak. I simply read "realism" as difficulty. At 100% you are a micromanaging Captain Queeg. The lower you go in difficulty/realism the more tasks you are delegating to the crew.
I am of the opinion that even at the lowest rating you are approximating complete realism. It's just that you truly trust your crew to do all the work. So having map updates while you do the manual sighting is not a problem with realism. It's just that, as captain, you like to play with periscope, and don't want to fool around with the pens and pencils on the map. At least that's the wa I like to think of it